


support up! (finding love on the battlefield)

by joltik



Series: it came from twitter [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bisexual Disaster Byleth Eisner, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), sometimes you look at your emperor on the battlefield and are like "oh fuck she's hot"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joltik/pseuds/joltik
Summary: Edelgard, at their head, resplendent as ever. The winter sun catching on her crown, her face, her hair...Byleth watches, entranced, as she cuts down enemy after enemy with a grace and fluidity belying the weight of her armor. Edelgard’s always moved with grace and elegance, a level of poise suited to her station, but there’ssomethingabout it now that catches the breath in Byleth’s throat, sends a jolt through her stomach. She’s a force of nature, a whirlwind of fire taking down everything in her path, a tempest, and she’sbeautiful—Suddenly there’s a loudthwack,a burst of pain at the back of Byleth’s head, and she blacks out---or,  I made a joke tweet about Byleth realizing she's attracted to Edelgard on the battlefield and then being so distracted she gets knocked out, and then this physically manifested from the depths of my brain
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: it came from twitter [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165712
Comments: 5
Kudos: 181





	support up! (finding love on the battlefield)

**Author's Note:**

> please take concussions seriously and seek medical attention if you don't have access to healing magic
> 
> follow me on twitter at [tinyjoltiks](https://twitter.com/tinyjoltiks) if you want

It’s a simple skirmish against Alliance forces, and as battles go, it _should_ be fairly uneventful. Caspar and Bernadetta do have a couple of close calls that she has to roll back, but the Empire has more forces and the soldiers they have are better trained, so in all the battle is going strongly in their favor.

There’s a chill to the air around them, it being a cold morning early in Guardian Moon. The battlefield beneath their feet is dusted with a fine layer of snow—rare for this part of the Alliance, to Byleth's recollection—and the sky is gray above, though there's a small amount of sun streaming in through a break in the clouds. Byleth knows to be careful where she looks, lest the glint off a blade or the dazzling snow distract her. She dodges a spear aimed at her left flank, lets the soldier’s own momentum unbalance him. There’s a _snap_ as the man’s spear breaks underneath him before she dispatches him with a simple slice of her sword. Lets her eyes flit to Petra, deftly taking out her own opponent with a Brigid sword technique. Hubert, next: some archers briefly threaten him, but he shows no difficulty bringing all of them down with his dark magic. Another soldier targets Byleth with an overhead sword strike; she parries, then, disrupting her footwork, before striking the enemy swordswoman down.

Bernadetta’s the next of her students she checks on, and she’s worried that she’s found her in another pinch—her hyperfocus when sniping is a blessing and a curse, and a swordsman has used that to close in on her without her noticing—until Ferdinand sweeps in, stabbing the encroaching soldier with his lance and sweeping the timid archer onto the back of his horse behind him. Caspar and Linhardt are fighting back to back, which is good; Caspar should be a little more cautious in his fighting if he has to look out for the more frail mage, and if he does get reckless, Linhardt can more easily heal him as long as he’s by the other man’s side. And Lysithea and Dorothea cover the Strike Force’s rear flank, their spellwork as beautiful and efficient as ever. Which leaves…

Edelgard, at their head, resplendent as ever. The winter sun catching on her crown, her face, her hair...Byleth watches, entranced, as she cuts down enemy after enemy with a grace and fluidity belying the weight of her armor. Edelgard’s always moved with grace and elegance, a level of poise suited to her station, but there’s _something_ about it now that catches the breath in Byleth’s throat, sends a jolt through her stomach. She’s a force of nature, a whirlwind of fire taking down everything in her path, a tempest, and she’s _beautiful_ —

Suddenly there’s a loud _thwack,_ a burst of pain at the back of Byleth’s head, and she blacks out

* * *

Byleth blinks bleary eyes as she wakes up, squinting as she takes in her surroundings. She...appears to be in a makeshift med tent, lit in soft tones by an overhead light spell. There’s a flurry of green, and Linhardt stands above her, squinting as he peers down on her. “Ah, Professor,” he says, in his typical (nonexistent) bedside manner. “You’ve returned to the world of the living, I see.”

“I...yes?” Byleth says, confusion growing. “How long was I out? Not...another five years, I hope?” Linhardt certainly doesn’t seem to have changed, but...a pit of anxiety is growing in her stomach as Linhardt continues to examine her.

“It was hyperbole,” Linhardt says. “You were out for about...oh, five to ten minutes. Although I would _love_ to hear more about the other thing. Are you able to sit up?”

“I think so,” Byleth says, doing so.

Linhardt prods her around and probes her for a few moments, alternating between using his fingers and a short implement. At one point, he casts a weak light spell directly in front of her face and she has to force herself not to flinch as he uses it to examine her eyes. “How does your head feel, Professor?”

“It hurts.”

“Well, you have a head injury, so that is to be expected,” Linhardt says, as deadpan as ever. “Vision?”

“...What about it?”

“Is it blurry, is it doubled, are you feeling light-sensitive?”

“A little blurry, but otherwise fine, I think?”

Linhardt lets out a soft “tut,” appearing to file the information away. “Any dizziness?”

“...A little bit.”

“And your memory, Professor? Long-term and more recent?”

“I remember who I am, who you are, all of that…” Byleth says, thinking. “And then today...there was a battle? Over disputed former Alliance territory.”

“Correct. You took a blow to the head,” Linhardt says. “You were quite lucky it wasn’t worse...what on earth happened? You tend to be more competent on the battlefield than that.”

“Um…” Byleth says, as she tries to retrieve her memories of what happened. She had been fighting...she glanced around the battlefield, trying to keep an eye on her students to make sure they were safe...and Edelgard—

She remembers what happened, and there’s a rush of heat to her face as she suddenly wishes that she really _did_ fall unconscious for another five years, wishes she _still_ was unconscious, instead of having this conversation. “Uh. I fell down,” she says, deadpan.

“You were struck with a blunt weapon. By an enemy soldier.”

“Nope. I fell.”

Linhardt stares at her for a long moment, a furrow in his brow. “Well,” he finally says. “Whatever _that’s_ about, I can’t be bothered to care, but I’m assuming your memories are intact.

“I was able to heal the worst of the damage,” Linhardt continues, “but you still appear to have a concussion. You are free to leave whenever you feel well enough, but you should avoid sleeping for the next several hours. Contact me if your symptoms worsen, and do try to take care of yourself..I would rather not have to actually _work_.”

“I understand. Thank you, Linhardt.”

* * *

Linhardt leaves the tent, and soon after, two of Byleth’s other students enter. Bernadetta holds back, reserved, but Petra approaches, handing her a packet of what appears to be strong-smelling herbs, and says, “Herbal medicine, for aching heads. From Brigid.”

“Thank you, Petra,” Byleth says. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

Petra nods. “I am keeping it with me always when there is battle, just in case.”

“Um,” Bernadetta says, before thrusting a handful of wildflowers into Byleth’s hands. “They aren’t anything special, just, um! Some wild daisies. Because you’re supposed to give people flowers when they’re injured or sick, and I was surprised to find any flowers that were still alive in the area...although thinking about it, I guess you don’t really have anything to do with flowers right now, huh..”

Byleth shakes her head. “You thought of me, and I appreciate it. Thank you for the flowers.”

“You’re always so nice to me, Professor..I’m so glad you’re okay,” Bernadetta says, voice slightly weepy. “...You are okay, right?”

“I should be,” Byleth says with a decisive nod, followed by a wince. “I have a concussion, but Linhardt healed the worst of it. What happened with the…”

“The enemy retreated shortly after you got hit,” Bernadetta says. “Everyone’s okay, but we were all kinda worried about you, you know? Oh, Edelgard will be glad you’re okay.”

The same funny feeling in her stomach from earlier comes back. “Edelgard?”

“Yeah...all of us were worried, but she..kinda freaked out, when she saw you went down. She really cares about you, you know?”

“Ah..” Byleth says, something warm blooming in her chest. Her tongue is heavy in her mouth; she feels... _weird_. “I feel bad for worrying her.”

“I believe Edelgard is busy at the moment,” Petra says, “but she will be glad for you being up and about,” Petra says.

“Ah…” Byleth says. Thinking about Edelgard...in this moment, she both wants and doesn’t want to see her, in equal measure...

Petra squints at her. “Is something wrong, Professor? Are you feeling not well?”

“Honestly, I feel...strange,” Byleth says. “Physically, I’m fine. Well...my head hurts. But…”

“Emotionally, you are feeling strange?” Petra says.

“Yeah.”

“Do...do you want to talk about it, Professor?” Bernadetta says quietly. “Sometimes...talking about it is kind of hard, when I’m not feeling great, but it...I feel better afterwards! And I think...the same might be true for you?”

“...I can try,” Byleth says. “This isn’t really something I know how to do, though.”

“We can be teaching you!” Petra says brightly. “Bernie can become Professor for today.”

“I—I can?” Bernadetta says, her voice rising in pitch as she becomes flustered. “I mean, I can try, I guess...Just...um. Talk about whatever comes to mind. Whatever’s bothering you, and we’ll listen.”

“Mm…Does this qualify as 'girltalk'?" Byleth asks, recalling Dorothea using the term occasionally in the past.

"Well..." Petra says, a contemplative look on her face. "We are all girls, and we _are_ talking. So I would be thinking so."

"I...suppose so," Bernadetta says, a slight furrow to her brow. “I haven’t really...had a lot of girltalk, but...I think it’s usually about other stuff, not how we’re feeling psychologically? Like...if there were people we were interested in, romantically, that kind of thing. But we can think of it as girltalk, if it helps?”

“I’ve never done it, either, so I don’t know if it helps.” Byleth sits cross-legged, biting her lip as she tries to wrack her brain for what to say, how to describe what she’s feeling. How much of it she even wants to talk about. “This is hard.”

“You can take your time,” Bernadetta says. “But, you know...we are kind of worried about you, and we do want to help.”

“Is this...what happened on the battlefield?” Petra says. “Is that the cause of why you are feeling this way?”

"Yeah...I just…" Byleth says, fumbling for words. "It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before, and I don't know how to describe it."

"What _do_ you know that you are feeling?" Petra says, her tone calm. It's honestly grounding.

"Hm," Byleth says. "Bad. Embarrassed? Fear, almost, but not really?" She puts a hand in her hair and lies back down with a sigh. "Like I don't want the thing that happened to have happened."

Which she could do. She could go back and undo it. But for such a small injury, and when all of her students managed to escape the battle unharmed, it feels like a waste.

"Ah," Petra says, before saying a word in her own language. "I don't know how to say it in your language, though."

"I appreciate the attempt," Byleth says. "I think if I knew what that meant, it would be helpful.

Bernadetta, who had been silent for a while, stands up suddenly, bursting out with "Mortification! That's what it is you're feeling, Professor! You're mortified!" She pauses after she finishes speaking, looking thoughtful for a moment. "I guess I shouldn't be so excited about that. Sorry, Professor."

"I'm mortified…" Byleth says, frowning. "I don't like it."

“For what it’s worth, it’s lucky you haven’t been mortified before?” Bernadetta says. “Oh...don’t take this the wrong way! But...I’m mortified, like, all of the time. And it really sucks!”

“So I’m learning,” Byleth says.

“What has you...feeling the mortification?” Petra asks. “Is it getting knocked out? Or something else?”

“Getting knocked out is...part of it, I guess. It’s more...the reason why I got knocked out, I guess. But...I’d rather not talk about that.”

“Hmm...Without talking about it, we cannot be helping you,” Petra says.

Immediately after her, Bernadetta adds, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to! But Petra’s right...it’s hard to help with what we don’t know about.”

“And it was...peculiar for you, Professor,” Petra says. “The thing on the battlefield. You are usually being...much more attentive.”

“Yeah,” Byleth says. “I got...distracted.

“What was distracting you?”

“...The weather,” Byleth lies. I was thinking about how weird it is that it was snowing this far south in the Alliance.”

“You...were thinking about the snow?” Bernadetta says, blinking in surprise. “I...guess I can see how that would be mortifying... Even I know not to be careful of getting dazzled…Not...that I think you’re any less competent for it if that is why, of course! I’m sorry...”

“No, I’m sorry,” Byleth says, feeling embarrassed again. “I was lying.”

“Professor!” Bernadetta whines. “We really can’t help you if you lie…”

“Bernie is right,” Petra says with a nod. “Honesty is important.”

“I know...I don’t like lying to you. I’m sorry,” Byleth says. “It’s just embarrassing. I got distracted...because I was looking at Edelgard. She looked...really cool. Beautiful, even. It was hard to stop looking at her.”

“Ah!” Petra says, a knowing smile on her face, as she smacks her hand with her fist. “This _is_ girltalk! Because you are having romantic interest in Edelgard.”

“I...what?” Byleth says, once again wishing she could go back to being unconscious.

Bernadetta squeezes her hand supportively. “I, um!” she squeaks, sounding not quite as embarrassed as Byleth feels in this moment but embarrassed enough for Byleth to feel a little better. “I think! Probably you should talk to Edelgard about this.”

Byleth groans, willing the earth to consume her. Isn’t that a thing she should be able to do? For a person merged with a supposed all-powerful Goddess, her actual abilities often turn out to be somewhat underwhelming… “I really don’t want to do that,” she says.

“If it is distracting you,” Petra says, “is it not important to deal with the distraction?”

“Yeah, um...even if...even if it’s not romantic,” Bernadetta says, “if it’s enough of a distraction that you get a concussion...that’s pretty bad, I think?”

“You’re right,” Byleth says with a sigh. “I still want to sleep for another five years, though.”

* * *

Byleth does not leave to seek out Edelgard right away. The other women had said she was busy, and anyway, she doesn’t think she is ready. Rather, she puts it off until she thinks it’s been long enough that it’s likely Edelgard will seek her out if she doesn’t do it first.

It’s not hard to track her down. Edelgard’s always had a presence, an energy, that makes her stand out, be it in a crowd of people or a barren wasteland. There’s something about this energy that draws her in, now, sets her blood alight, like a moth to a flame but she isn’t afraid of being burned by her heat...Or maybe she’s always been drawn to her, like this, and she just never noticed before. She’s slightly lightheaded, overwhelmed, and she doesn’t think it’s the concussion.

As soon as Edelgard notices her, she rushes over, clear concern in her eyes. “Professor! Are you—”

“I’m fine,” Byleth says. “Well, I have a concussion. But I’m fine.”

“What...was it that happened, exactly?” Edelgard asks. “I didn’t see all of it happen myself, but...it’s unusual for you to take such an injury.”

“I’m...not entirely sure, myself,” Byleth says. “But...I was distracted.”

“...Distracted?”

“Yeah. Um,” Byleth says, suddenly nervous. She pauses to think for a second, not sure how to broach the subject, before deciding to just come out with it. "I just wanted to say that you're beautiful."

Edelgard stares at her in confusion. "You said...you had a concussion, correct? Are you sure you’re feeling well?"

"I do have a concussion," Byleth says. "It's true, though."

“I’m not...certain what this has to do with—”

“That’s, um. What I was distracted by. Your beauty.”

“...This isn’t something to joke about.” Edelgard says, a slight scowl on her face.

“I’m not joking! I, um. I think I like you, El.”

“...’El,’ you say,” Edelgard says. Byleth isn’t sure how to read her expression, and that makes her nervous. “I’m happy to hear you call me that, but...I’m not quite sure what you mean by any of this, really.”

“I don’t...know either, really,” Byleth says. “All of this is new to me, but I just...I saw you, and I thought you looked really beautiful. And I couldn’t get that out of my head.”

“I...I see,” Edelgard says, clearly flustered. “This is all very flattering, but…”

“Is it bad?” Byleth asks, a sudden twisting in her gut. She came into this with no expectations, but...suddenly, she’s afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of disgust, afraid that she’s doing something _wrong_ , by having these feelings for her.

Edelgard’s eyes widen, and she firmly shakes her head “I’m happy, really,” she says, her lips upturned in a small smile. “It’s a lot to take in, but...if my feelings are returned, even in a small way, I’m happy. But…”

“It’s not a small way!” Byleth interjects, still processing Edelgard’s words. “I don’t...totally get it myself, I’m still...processing how I feel sometimes still doesn’t come naturally, for me. I don’t know how to feel things the way a normal person does. But..I like you a lot, Edelgard. El.”

“I...appreciate that,” Edelgard says, a faint blush on her face. “But—and this is my primary concern—if it’s such a distraction, that’s...something that should be dealt with. I don’t want to lose you.”

The sincerity in Edelgard’s tone gives her pause. It _had_ been a close call, and it could have easily been worse. Byleth thinks for a long moment, then says, “I think...I will be less distracted if I kiss you.”

“...What?”

“Because...I’ve been thinking about how much I want to kiss you for the last few minutes. And so, if I do, I’ll stop thinking about it, and it won’t be a distraction anymore,” Byleth says, her tone sincere.

“That...I very much think that isn’t how it works, my te—Byleth,” Edelgard grumbles, a clear note of skepticism in her tone. “But...I am not opposed to kissing you, I suppose.”

Edelgard’s warm, her lips soft against hers. She makes a soft sound and leans into Byleth’s touch as Byleth wraps her arms around her, pulls her in close. Byleth feels like she could stay here for an eternity, kiss her forever. It’s addictive, exhilarating, intoxicating.

“...That didn’t work,” Byleth says as she pulls away. “Now I’m just going to be thinking about kissing you all of the time.”

“I...don’t know how to help you with that,” Edelgard says, a note of amusement mixed with exasperation in her tone.

Byleth kisses her again, threading her fingers through hers. “We’ll figure something out.”


End file.
